26Iron Age Tombs
Trained sniffer dogs are helping archaeologists in Croatia discover 3,000-year-old Iron Age tombs. Experts have said that using dogs is a good way to identify archaeological sites, as it is less destructive than many traditional methods.
27. In 1983, a man in Perugia, Italy, was digging a plot in his backyard for a vegetable garden and accidentally ended up discovering an Etruscan tomb that’s been dated to be more than 2000 years old.
28. The long-lost tomb of Mark Antony and Cleopatra from 30 B.C. has remained undiscovered to this day. But as of November 22, 2022, archaeologists have just found a 4,300-foot-long tunnel under an ancient temple in Egypt. They think this tunnel could lead to Cleopatra's long-lost tomb.
29. Lenin's dead body is bathed and dressed in new clothes every year. His tomb is located in the centre of Moscow and is open to the public, despite his death wish to be buried next to his wife.
30. Tutankhamun’s tomb is one of the few Egyptian tombs that have been discovered to be nearly intact and complete. The tombs of all other pharaohs were looted at some point in history. Although his tomb was robbed twice in antiquity, the unbroken seal on the tomb's door remained untouched for more than 3200 years.
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31Alexander's Tomb
The location of the tomb of Alexander the Great has been lost to time. Alexander was entombed in Alexandria, and his tomb was subsequently visited by many pilgrims throughout history, including Caesar. Many of the Roman emperors who visited his tomb left with souvenirs, effectively looting the monument. His tomb was well visited up until the 1500s, when its location was suddenly forgotten.
32. The tomb of St. Nicholas in Italy excretes a liquid called "manna." For hundreds of years now, the manna has been collected by the Church, mixed with holy water, and bottled in small glass vials decorated with icons of the saint for sale to pilgrims.
33. The US Capitol Building was designed to house George Washington's tomb on public display. Both houses passed a resolution in 1799 calling for him to be entombed there, and his wife too consented to this, but due to various delays, it took until 1830 for this plan to become viable. The same year, an attempt was made to steal George Washington’s skull from his tomb at Mount Vernon. The thief, however, mistakenly stole the skull of Supreme Court Justice Bushrod Washington. After this theft, plans for Washington to be entombed at the Capitol were cancelled.
34. Blue faience hippopotamus statuettes were popular in ancient Egypt, but only around 50–60 of them have survived. The ancient Egyptians believed that hippos evoked chaotic forces because of the danger they pose to humans in the wild. This is why they often snapped off the legs of the hippo statuettes before placing them in tombs, so that they wouldn't eat the soul of the deceased.
35. According to one legend, the funeral escort of Genghis Khan killed anyone and anything that crossed their path in order to conceal where he was finally buried. After the construction of his tomb was completed, the slaves who built it were massacred, and then the soldiers who killed them were also killed.
